Shadow of a Memory

[tagline intro loud boom from 808s and bass]it's rooster season!

Echoes of yesterday… faint but clear

Memories drift… shadows near

The sun on your back… the sweat on your hands

Everything we were… still lingers in these lands

He taught me… how to cast that line… under the burning sun

Red neck… old work truck… days begun… and gone

He laughed… when the sink still leaked… wrench warm in my hand

Said… slow down… don’t force it… son… fix what you can

Dust in the air… sweat on skin… worn jeans on worn legs

Steady hands… steady heart… more than words could peg

A rock on mama’s side… quiet… and strong

Now I stand here… wondering… where we went wrong

Pawpaw… don’t remember… but I hold it all

Late night talks… quiet rooms… footsteps in the hall

He looks into my eyes… like he’s seen me before

Pawpaw… don’t remember… but I need him more

Different days… different rooms… same lost stare

Time moves on… it don’t play fair

You pause… searching… trying to place

How the hell… you ended up… in this space

I tell you softly… who I am… you try to understand

Every blink a struggle… every moment… in demand

Smiles borrowed… seconds rearranged

One flash of knowing… then it slips away… changed

Pawpaw… don’t remember… but I hold it all

Late night talks… quiet rooms… footsteps in the hall

He looks into my eyes… like he’s seen me before

Pawpaw… don’t remember… but I need him more

You used to know… every corner… every truth… every way

Now I’m the one… guiding you… through the day

You taught me patience… to keep my footing firm

Now I hold the line… when your world… twists and turns

Your voice cracks… your eyes searching mine

I memorize the man… piece by piece… line by line

I remember the tilt of your head… when you laughed

The way you’d shake your hands… to wipe off the past

The quiet pride… in your step… the stubborn tilt of your chin

Even as the memory faded… your heart… never gave in

I trace the moments… we carved in sweat and dust

Every lesson… every word… every quiet trust

And though the man… in front of me… drifts away each day

I carry him here… he never… truly fades

Pawpaw… don’t remember… but I hold it all

Every laugh… every fight… every whispered call

He looks into my eyes… like he’s seen me before

Pawpaw… don’t remember… but I need him more

Echoes of yesterday… faint but clear

I carry the weight… of every year

If your mind won’t stay… mine will do

I’ll remember enough… for the both of us… too

Pawpaw… always you